USS Wilkes-Barre

Anyone here ever dived the Wilkes-Barre, S-16, Kendrick or Curb here in the lower keys??

Capt Jim Wyatt once bubbled...
Anyone here ever dived the Wilkes-Barre, S-16, Kendrick or Curb here in the lower keys??

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3 out of 4 - haven't done Curb yet.

I am taking divers to the S-16 next week....I have never dived it. Can you tell me about the dive???

Just posting to get a heads up on Bottomfeeder's response.

Capt Jim,AUE-Mike probly has some info .Try Deeperstuff.com

Capt Jim Wyatt once bubbled...
I am taking divers to the S-16 next week....I have never dived it. Can you tell me about the dive???

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It's a little more than 250 to the sand. There was a pretty strong current on the bottom perpendicular to the wreck both times I went, and the water temp on the bottom was quite cold relative to the top (low 60s in late July if I remember correctly). The vis wasn't really good, maybe 30 ft or a little less as I remember. It took a few tries to hook a ball into it (you would expect that with a sub).

There is an open hatch in the conning tower, and maybe 2 more on the hull. I didn't try to go in.

See http://www.mikey.net/aue for a description and pictures. AUE Mike and one or two others wrote dive reports in 7/01, you may find them in your email archives if you are on any of the lists.

Thanks for the reply.

The S-16 is a 32 mile run for me and I am trying to find out if the run is worth it for my divers....all I have heard about it is that it has current & low vis. As you reported.

Hi Captain Jim-
The S-16 would be a decent little jaunt for you coming from Cudjoe. It is a nice dive though. Of all the sub dives I have done, she is one of the most impressive, in large part because she still looks like a sub. She is resting with the bow to the north and the prevailing current running up and over her portside. This make hooking it a lot easier than if she was running with the current. You can typically drop a shotline just to the west of the conning tower and smack right into it. Not a lot of debris in the immediate area, so if you don't grab the wreck the hook or whatever will be dragging in the sand.
If you are getting the typical east winds this time of year it can push the current down a little, or it can make for a real sloppy mess.
Visibility can be a little green, but not too bad (40-60fsw); we had about 10fsw of blackwater on the Wilkes a couple weeks ago.
The conning tower hatch is open, but you can't get in with doubles. It really doesn't matter, as the wet deck hatch is closed so you can't get in the actual sub itself, just the tower.
The aft hatch is open and leads down into the battery room.
I think it is a dive worth doing, but I don't know if this time of the year is the best due to the weather. I would try to get some reports from the KW fishermen the day before; people fish it a lot as it is a good tuna spot.
Let me know if I can be of further help.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks for that good report Mike. I guess we will give it a try over one the days next week..we have deep dives on Curb S-16 & Wilkes scheduled for 6 days beginning Sunday.

Who all you got down there? Hope you guys have fun. Are you planning on doing the Kendrick too? That's a nice wreck; can't wait to hit it with a scooter.
Have you had the chance to get good GPS numbers for the Berry and Saufley? I have the LORAN numbers but have not been out to get the GPS numbers. If you have LORAN on your boat I can forward them to you if you want to try and get good positioning info.
Cheers,
Mike